Abdul Samad Rabiu Urges Africa to Shift from Raw Extraction to Industrial Value Addition at Mining Indaba 2026
Cape Town, South Africa – Founder and Executive Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has called for a fundamental shift in Africa’s development model, urging governments, development finance institutions (DFIs), and private sector players to prioritise large-scale industrial processing and value addition over the export of raw materials.
Rabiu made the call while speaking as Special Guest of Honour at an Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) forum held on the sidelines of Mining Indaba 2026 in Cape Town. The event brought together African leaders, policymakers, financiers, and industry executives to deliberate on the future of mining, industrialisation, and real sector growth across the continent.
Commending AFC for mobilising long-term capital for Africa’s industrial sectors, Rabiu noted that the institution’s leadership and its recent S&P Global rating with a positive outlook reflect the critical role strong development finance institutions play in shaping Africa’s economic trajectory.
Drawing from BUA Group’s experience, Rabiu recounted the company’s strategic decision over 16 years ago to transition from cement importation to local production in Nigeria, despite the heavy capital requirements and long gestation periods typical of mining and large-scale industrial projects.
“At the time, Nigeria was importing cement despite being richly endowed with limestone,” he said. “We were spending more time chasing foreign exchange than selling cement. The real question was not whether the resources existed, but whether there was enough conviction to stop importing and start producing locally.”
According to him, BUA now mines and processes about 40,000 tonnes of limestone daily, producing approximately one million tonnes of cement monthly. The shift, he noted, has helped Nigeria move from being a net cement importer to a net exporter, saving the country billions of dollars annually in foreign exchange.
Rabiu emphasised that the transformation would not have been possible without patient, long-term financing from DFIs, particularly AFC, which has supported BUA’s cement and industrial operations with over $400 million in funding. He added that a significant portion of the facilities has already been repaid, demonstrating that well-structured African industrial projects are both developmental and commercially viable.
Addressing the broader continental context, Rabiu described Africa’s economic structure as paradoxical. Despite being one of the world’s most resource-rich regions, the continent continues to export most of its minerals and agricultural produce in raw or minimally processed forms.
He cited gold, cobalt, copper, iron ore, diamonds, and cocoa as examples, noting that while Africa supplies a substantial share of global raw inputs, it captures only a small fraction of the value created downstream.
“Africa does not lack resources,” Rabiu stated. “What it lacks is processing capacity, industrial scale, and disciplined execution.”
He argued that similar challenges exist in agriculture, where Africa holds a significant portion of the world’s arable land yet imports billions of dollars’ worth of food annually.
Rabiu called for coordinated action among governments, DFIs, and the private sector to accelerate industrialisation. He urged DFIs to expand long-term financing targeted at beneficiation and value-chain development, while encouraging governments to adopt policies that incentivise local processing and invest in critical infrastructure such as power, transportation, and industrial hubs.
“Industrialisation does not happen by accident,” he said. “Countries that industrialised did so by design, not by chance. Africa must do the same.”
He concluded that Africa’s opportunity lies in aligning private enterprise, patient capital, and supportive policy frameworks to transition the continent from extraction to transformation and unlock shared prosperity.
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